The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Madison, WI Focus

With the Wisconsin Republicans taking away the rights of working class Americans to please their billionaire buddies, there is going to be one hell of a fight in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. From FireDogLake:

If you’ve been following along in my last post, you know the news: the Wisconsin State Senate rushed through and passed a bill that strips collective bargaining rights from most public employees. The vote in the State Senate, entirely composed of Republicans, was 18-1; only moderate Dale Schultz voted no. The budget repair bill was split at the last minute, cleaving the “non-fiscal” anti-union piece from the fiscal components of the bill. The non-fiscal piece did not require a quorum, so the Senate was able to pass it....

• Legal challenges. There are going to be a number of legal challenges to this bill. It will not be implemented right away. There’s the near-term challenge of how the bill got passed tonight. It was done in a way that may have violated open meetings laws, by not allowing 24 hours notice for a public meeting of the conference committee. There are other statutes about collective bargaining that may be brought up in court and fought. And there’s the issue of the bill having a fiscal impact. Scott Walker spent three weeks claiming that collective bargaining was a fiscal issue, and then the legislature just passed the bill as “non-fiscal.” Courts will have to wade through a lot of this, and it’s sure to go up to the state Supreme Court. Which brings us to…

• Supreme Court fight. The matchup between David Prosser (R) and JoAnn Kloppenberg (D) for the state Supreme Court on April 5 just got very interesting. It’s a statewide vote, and the balance of power on the state Supreme Court is at stake. Right now there are 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats on the court, but one of those Republicans is Prosser. Expect lots of organizing and millions of dollars poured into this election, which is much like a political election, with debates and everything. If Democrats win, the legality of what took place tonight may be put in greater question.

That's right. An election that very few people were paying attention to has now become MASSIVELY important.

Recall efforts are underway targeting the Wisconsin Republican State Senators who are minions of the Billionaire Koch Brothers.

Efforts are underway to raise money to retake the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate.

But before these, we need to win on April 5th.

JoAnn Kloppenberg is not accepting contributions. She is running on public financing only. What she needs is PEOPLE. People to knock on doors, pass out flyers...and of course people to VOTE on April 5th.

Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg has been a litigator and prosecutor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice since 1989, serving under Attorneys General from both parties: Don Hanaway, Jim Doyle, Peg Lautenschlager and JB Van Hollen.

Her legal experience is broad and deep and includes constitutional law, appellate law, civil litigation, environmental prosecution and administrative law. She has argued numerous cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and she has tried cases in circuit courts around the state.

Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin Law School (1988). She has an undergraduate degree from Yale (1974), also with honors, and a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University (1976). During Law School, she was an intern for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and later was a law clerk for Chief Judge Barbara Crabb of the United States District Court.

A teacher at the UW Law School since 1990, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana (1976-1979) and remains active in professional, civic and community life. She is a member of the Legal Association for Women (LAW), a mentor with the Dane County Bar Association, an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor, and a member of her neighborhood association board, and has volunteered with various nonprofit groups.

It is CRUCIAL that we win this election. It is our first chance to challenge the pro-Billionaire, anti-working class Republicans since they first started to try and take away workers' rights. Your vote and your time are vital to winning.

MADISON STANDS UP TO RIGHT WING TEABAGGER EXTREMISM:The whole nation is watching what is happening in Madison, WI. Good, working class Americans are waking up to the anti-union, pro-rich, irresponsible fiscal policies of the Teabagger Republicans.

America stands with the working class of Wisconsin.

I would like to highlight the downtown businesses who have been working extra hard to keep the pro-union protesters fed:

If you would like to help feed the demonstrators in Madison please do the following:

* Ian's Pizza* Pizza Di Roma* Gumby's Pizza* Silver Mine Subs

Help them feed the protesters and, when things have quieted down, give them your business. You can find them on Badger Bites.

It is time to face facts about Wisconsin's Teabagger (remember, THEY picked that name) Governor...he has been lying and quite possibly breaking the law for no reason other than to please his Billionaire Masters, the Koch Brothers of NYC. Here are the facts and the fallout from his putting the rich in NYC over Wisconsin's firefighters, police, nurses and teachers:

For more info check out their website: http://www.themic921.com/main.html

CURRENT TV MADISON:Current TV, founded by Al Gore, includes some of the best journalism in America today. In particular their Vanguard series is amazing and should not be missed by ANYONE who wants to know in depth coverage of some of the major stories in the world.

Democracy for Wisconsin - MadisonThe local affiliate of Howard Dean's Democracy for America. The Progressive Grassroots at its best.

Meets first Wed. of each month, 7 PM, Madison, WI

Join us in building a brighter and more progressive future for our country.

For more information (including where) email: russwallac_at_aol.com or go here.

For the bicycilists in Madison, here's Critical Mass Madison:

Critical Mass is a movement (not an organization) that advocates for better transportation alternatives. Meets 5:30 PM, the last Friday of Every Month, no matter the weather. Gather where West Washington meets Capitol Square. Where the ride goes after that is decided by whoever shows up.

The modern Democratic Party in Wisconsin got its start in 1949, when the progressive wing of the state’s Republican Party broke away and joined Wisconsin’s Democratic Party. Over the next decade, Democrats, invigorated by the new blood brought into the party by those progressives, racked up an impressive series of wins. This included the election of the first Democratic Governor and U.S. Senator, knocking out Joe McCarthy in doing so.

Since that time, the Dane County Democratic Party has fought for those same progressive principles–rallying against unjust wars, fighting along with our labor and environmental allies on issues impacting workers’ rights and wages and our shared natural environment. We’ve taken a lead in the Wisconsin Democratic Party to ensure openness for all party members in our decision-making processes.

The Dane County Democratic Party has monthly meetings from January to May, and from August to November. These meetings feature elected Democratic speakers from across the state, as well as progressives such as Ed Garvey and Joel Rogers. In July we have a summer picnic. In December we have a holiday party at which we honor our Democrat of the Year–who in past years have included Senator Russ Feingold, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and Governor Jim Doyle.

Madison Peak Oil Group meets on the first Thursday of every month for a brown bag lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the lower level conference room at 222 S. Hamilton Street.

THE MadiSUN PROGRAM: The City of Madison was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Solar America Cities Program. MadiSUN’s goal is to double to number of solar electric and hot water solar installations in the city. The City of Madison, along with Madison Gas and Electric, Focus on Energy and UW Extension will be working on this project for the next two years. A major component of the grant is to provide the community with a consultant who can help interested residents and businesses install a solar system. The consultant is on board to provide technical expertise and to answer questions regarding design, permitting and rebate programs. Contact (608) 243-0586 or solar_at_cityofmadison.com

Alternative energy and YOUR energy bill: YOU can be part of the solution for America by signing up to purchase your energy through a Green Power Provider. My wife and I have been doing this in NYC for years. All our energy usage is provided through wind energy generation on American farms. So we use clean energy AND help American farmers. It costs us three cents per kilowatt-hour more per month, but we feel great about it. Although our actual energy may come from anywhere, we are paying to purchase wind energy for the energy grid. Each state has different programs available, usually through yuor existing energy provider right on your existing energy bill. To find such options in Wisconsin, go here and pick your energy provider from the list. If you need help, you can email me and tell me who you get your bill from (don't give me any other info!) and I can tell you who to contact to go green through that energy provider. Or you can do the same thing using Renewable Energy Certificates through an organization that works with utility companies, though in this case it is a separate bill. One off the cheapest (.4-1 cent per kilowatt-hour), but still e-Green certified, ways to do this is through Good Energy. Or, for about half a cent per kilowatt-hour you can purchase renewable energy certificates through Carbonfund.org. ANY of these ways you do it, you are helping the environment, helping America, and helping cut carbon emissions.

Biodiesel in the Madison area:

Biodiesel is an American produced fuel that is cleaner than traditional diesel. Up to B20 (a 20% blend of biodiesel and traditional diesel) any diesel engine, car or truck, can run on it. Above B20, some older engines may have problems but newer diesel engines should be ok. Here are some Biofuels co-ops...below that I list regular gas stations that carry biodiesel.

PrairieFire BioFuels: a member-owned cooperative creating access and building infrastructure to support vegetable oil-based fuels sources and usage.

SERRV (one of my favorite companies)www.serrv.org Hundreds of fabulous handcrafts and foods available online, in a FREE catalog, and through wholesale and consignment. SERRV: a nonprofit with 60 years of experience.Phone: (800)422-5915Fax: (608)255-0451122 State St., Ste. 600Madison, WI 53703